Tom Cary is The Telegraph's Formula One Correspondent. You can follow him on Twitter @tomcary_tel

Jenson: "McLaren are listening to me more, which is nice."

The body language on display from Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button following Sunday's race could hardly have been more different. Lewis, trying to say nothing, could not conceal his frustration with how things are panning out for him at present.

There was a strange moment (strange in terms of its timing, in front of a handful of journalists) when Ron Dennis walked over to where we were sitting and put a consoling arm around him, saying "you know you can call me whenever you like". It was both touching and revealing.

Jenson, by contrast, looks and sounds like a man who is at peace with himself. His driving since Hungary has been sublime even if his qualifying/starts remain a source of frustration. What struck me most was his appraisal of why he feels he is driving better now than he did when he won the world title in 2009.

"It is to do with confidence after winning the world championship," he said, "feeling the team around me and being in a good place off the circuit. I am really working well with the people within the team; the engineers and the mechanics.

"I took my engineers and mechanics out for dinner on Saturday night in Italy. It is not for a competitive edge over Lewis’s side of the garage, it was to pay them back for all the hard work they have done. These guys work long hours and having a bond with your team is important. You might not think it is going to gain you anything, but it definitely does.

"I am very confident in my engineer [Dave Robson] and he understands the way that I work. We have a good rapport and that makes a big difference. At the moment we are working on developing the car for next year and they are really listening to what I have to say – the things I don’t like and the things I want to improve.

"Every time I drive the simulator we test something that I specifically want. I am really enjoying that and we are making really good progress for next year."

Asked whether his feedback was improving with age, and whether he is having a bigger say in how the car develops, Jenson said something interesting. "I don’t think I am having more of a say but I think they are listening more which is nice," he said. "Maybe that comes with winning the world championship, having the confidence within you. Some teams listen more than others.

"When I arrived here there were so many amazing things that I was gobsmacked with but there were one or two areas where I thought, “Why are they doing that? Why aren’t they doing this?” You give them your input and you try new things; it helps Lewis and it helps me. We do have really good input, Lewis and me. The team really listen and it moves the car forward."

Was Jenson hinting that he is now the driving force in terms of the car's development rather than Lewis? Possibly, although I don't think that was his intention. I don't think he was necessarily trying to turn up the heat on Lewis. He just wanted to show how confident, how comfortable, he is feeling at McLaren right now. Which possibly amounts to the same thing.

Nine points ahead of his team mate with six races to go. Can he keep it going?